Mainframe Downgrade

Ever wonder what happened to all those old computers from way-back-when?

Well, some which were lucky enough to get rolls in movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project, or in TV shows like Banacek, have gone on to comforable retirement in memorabilia collections. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of our former office companions, they have been pretty much discarded by society.

Go on: sometime, take yourself down to the wrong part of town -- to SKID ROW. Yeah, there you'll find them clattering and clacking away for a hand-out. Maybe you'll take pity on these wretched relics of a bygone era, and toss a few coins in their direction. But will these sad electro-mechanical monstrosities take that money and try to upgrade themselves? --

NO! You see, they're too far gone for that. What do these panhandling hulks do with the pitiful pittance you may slide into their collating tray? Buy a little extra juice from ComEd perhaps, but mainly -- well, let's just say that if you knew, you'd never look at a mimeograph machine the same way again.

****